Kukla's Korner Hockey

The National Hockey League hasn’t treated fans all that well – at least not when it comes to managing to get teams out on the ice as regularly as fans might desire.

There was the strike back in ’92. Then the lockout of ’94. Another lockout in 2004-05. Oh, and then there was this season’s 2012-13 lockout. Pity the poor hockey fan. If, as Woody Allen suggested, that 80% of life is just showing up, there hasn’t been much life in the league for NHL fans this season.

The newest lockout began last September after the League and Players’ Association couldn’t agree about a lot of stuff. There’s lots of discussion about what and who caused the lockout. But it shortened the season which was scheduled to begin on October 11th,by about 42%, signifying the cancellation of 510 regular season games and the 2013 NHL Winter Classic. So way short of Mr. Allen’s recommendation. But a lot better than 2004, when the entire season was cancelled.

In spite of the significantly shortened season (or perhaps because of it), there are more loyalty ties this year than in preceding years. According to fans in the teams’ own DMAs, the current 2013 NHL top-5 and bottom-5 team loyalty rankings are as follows (numbers in parentheses indicate last season’s standings):